This is for Real
by Lilec Hamira Amdciez
Summary: JJ is the first to notice. Hotch is the first to hold a conversation. Rossi is the first to distrust. Prentiss is the first to recognize. Morgan is the first to get angry. But it is Doctor Spencer Reid who's most affected. No non-cannon pairings, AU -man.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **So here it is, the prologue of the CM/DGM crossover I was talking about in third person at the top of my profile. I'd really like your opinions on this, because my own work is the first time I've seen a CM/DGM crossover and I'm worried about nearly everything, but the Criminal Minds cast in particular. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. Whether or not this continues depends completely on its reception and my ability to write multi-chapter fics (meaning if this is well received, expect infrequent updates and the occasional hiatus).

Lilec Hamira Amdciez does not own Criminal Minds or -man, although she'd really like to. They belong to their respective copyright holders.

* * *

**This is for Real, a Criminal Minds and D. Gray-man Crossover fanfiction  
PROLOGUE**

As Communications Liaison, Agent Jennifer Jareu was the first to her of the arrival of the strange children. She was also the one who arranged the last-minute meeting between them, Chief Erin Strauss and Agent Aaron Hotchner. And she was also the one that anyone who cared to look would see pacing impatiently in the bullpen, waiting for the rest of her team to arrive so that she could ask them, _Hey, do you guys have any idea what's going on? _even though they most probably didn't, seeing as they would have gotten that information from her.

But since they weren't, she settled for taking a seat st Agent Derek Morgan's desk (which he wouldn't appreciate) and trying her hand at profiling the children.

Because that's what they were, really, just children, a boy and a girl. She didn't see much of the boy – he kept himself well-covered by the heavy black cloak he wore, but from a brief glimpse at his face when he thanked her no more than half an hour ago when she had deposited them in Agent Hotchner's office, she could tell that he was young. The girl hadn't covered her face, so it was easy for her to see that she was a very pretty Chinese youth, maybe sixteen year old.

They were close – she could tell by the way they walked, because her own team often walked the same way. And she could also tell that in whatever organization they were from (those were definitely uniforms they were wearing, even if they were slightly different), neither out-ranked the other and if they did, neither really paid attention to it. They were also strong – the tightness in their backs that was discernible even through the black cloaks they wore was akin to that in Morgan's. They carried themselves like adults, the kind that parents always want their children to become, with some sort of underlying and maybe unconscious grace and maturity and confidence that the girl showed when she asked if the two of them could please speak to Chief Strauss and Agent Hotchner in private immediately, because they had something very important to tell them.

Agent Jareu, or JJ as she was known to her friends, bit her lip in worry. She had just seen the boy shut the blinds. And those blinds closing meant something big (and usually bad) was going to happen.

"Hey, JJ, what're you doing at my desk?" And Agent Derek Morgan chuckled when she nearly jumped out of her skin. His mirth faded though when she told him about the children and the curtains and asked him if he knew something she didn't.

"It must be something serious," he said, casting a worried glance in the general direction of the meeting.

Just then, Arron Hotchner, or Hotch as he will be called from now on, stepped out of his office and swept the bullpen with his eyes. Spotting two of his agents, he said, "Is Reid in yet?"

"The kid's not in trouble or something, is he?" Morgan asked, switching immediately to the defensive.

"No, nothing like that," said Hotch. "We just need to speak to him."

"Are those kids bad news?" Morgan asked, not missing a beat, "Something going on that we should know about?"

The Chinese girl from before stepped out of the room as he finished his sentence and glanced between the three of them. "They might as well hear this too, Agent Hotchner," she said softly. She looked quickly over her shoulder as if to confirm something with her companion and continued with, "Besides, they look like they're going to find out one way or another."

The boy appeared behind her, still keeping his hood up and said, speaking softly as well, though his voice was more thickly laced with experience than hers, "It would be best, sir, that they hear this from the source and not mangled up by others. It's hard enough to believe as it is," he seemed to almost-laugh when he ended.

Not needing a second invitation, Morgan walked up the stairs, JJ quick behind him. Once there, the boy asked, "Are there others who are especially close to Doctor Reid here?"

"Three," Hotch answered promptly.

"Then we'll tell you the whole story when they arrive. It would be easier to tell you all together." They boy stepped aside and motioned for the others to enter ahead of him.

He shut the door behind them - JJ heard the lock click - and turned to the newcomers and looked up, staring at their faces instead of their shoes. The first thing that JJ noticed that she didn't before was the stark contrast between the boy's black coat and his hair, which was pure white, like the hair of an old man but thicker. The next was the jagged scar that ran down his face, a line of red against pale skin, and again she is struck by his age, or lack thereof, because he couldn't have been any older than the girl. "My companion, Lenalee Lee, and I are from something called the Black Order - I don't think you've heard of it, but we're an international organization and what we strive to achieve is for the good of everyone -" The way he spoke is laced with such sincerity that assures them that he really does believe what he's saying, "and we're here for Doctor Spencer Reid."

"And you are?"

He smiled, his silvery eyes lighting up, and extended a gloved hand. "My name is Allen Walker. It's a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

That's that. As you can probably tell, Doctor Spencer Reid is going to have Innocence. If you can't, then I just spoiled it for you. Anyway, what's done is done, so if anyone at all has a suggestion (or twenty) as to what his should be - and I mean type, appearance, ability, name, supernatural phenomena that happened because of it, and/or anything else you'd like to add - drop a review or a PM with that suggestion. If you don't, well, that's all right, drop a review or PM anyway and tell me what you though of this prologue. Also, this is unbeta'd, so if you found a mistake, point it out please. And if anyone would like to fill the position, PM me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** It's pretty short, but here's the official first part. 886 words, which is probably less than the prologue, but I really wanted to introduce the cast to the Exorcists a little at a time. And because I forgot to mention this in the prologue, this takes place after chapter 202 in the DGM universe (because even though it's AU, a lot of the things are still the same), and I'm not quite sure when in the CM universe, but definitely before JJ's transfered to Department of Defense. Unbeta'd.

* * *

**This is for Real, a Criminal Minds and D. Gray-man Crossover fanfiction  
Chapter One**

SSA David Rossi ran into co-worker and friend Emily Prentiss on his way to the elevator five minutes after JJ had sent him a text message saying 'URGENT. COME IN ASAP,' and three seconds after said blond had sent him the same message for the twelfth time.

"You go JJ's text too?" he asked, stepping into the giant metal box that would take them to their office after her.

"Oh yeah," she said, tossing her head slightly and crossing her arms in what he had dubbed her This Better Be Good Stance.

He could sympathize. By the look of it, she was definitely hung over – which was perfectly reasonable, considering how their last case went. She had probably even been considering not coming in today. He had too (recent insomnia attacks made him so sleepy), but one must put aside personal wants for the good of humanity. And text messages from one's Communications Liaison that say URGENT. COME IN ASAP usually mean 'There's some possibly-crazy person wracking havoc in some place you may or may not have heard of and they're doing a pretty good job of it, so you have to come to work _right now _because we have to stop whoever this is from [insert heinous crime here]'. And while he did love saving lives and stopping bad guys, he didn't exactly enjoy being at the beck and call of –

Their phones buzzed, half a second apart. Rossi fished his out of his pocket and pressed the 'read now' button only to be greeted by the same message.

"Do you know what this is about?" he asked.

Prentiss shook her head just as the elevator doors opened. "No, but it seems pretty bad."

JJ was waiting for them by the brunette woman's desk. She gave them a completely indiscreet once-over and frowned. "Spence with you?"

"No," Rossi replied, brow furrowing, "should he be?"

She bit her lip and told them to follow her, blatantly ignoring Rossi's question. Instead of leading them to the round table room like usual, she took them to the door of Hotch's office and knocked. In the reflective surface of the window, she could see shock playing openly on Prentiss' face as she wondered why the blinds were closed.

It was Hotch who opened the door. His face was a little more drawn than it was yesterday, his eyes a little more haunted.

"Rossi and Prentiss," JJ said, ushering them in and locking the door behind herself. "I've contacted Garcia and Reid," she said when he asked. "They should be here soon."

Rossi surveyed the room. Morgan was sitting on the couch, his fingers laced together and his head bowed. Strauss sat in the chair directly across the door, her legs crossed and a frown tugging at her lips. Hotch took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk and JJ took the other, motioning for them to sit as well.

And then Rossi saw them.

Now, having been in the BAU for more than a decade, Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi had seen many strange people. But the two standing behind the chief were most definitely on the top of that list. They held themselves proudly but wearily, not as tense as the others in the room. They seemed to wear power like others wore cloaks, and the aura they exuded was impressive combined with their red-and-black outfits. They were young, mid-teens, but their eyes held the same age as his was a boy, pale in color, with silver eyes and snow-white hair, as if the blood had just all condensed in the nasty, scar-like thing that ran across the left side of his face. The other was a girl, maybe a little older then the boy, with dark hair and dark eyes and of definite Asia descent.

"Prentiss, Rossi," JJ began, "these are Allen Walker and Lenalee Lee."

The boy extended his hand over Strauss' shoulder, but the girl seemed content enough to smile and wave.

"Mister Walker, Miss Lee, these are Agents David Rossi and Emily Prentiss."

The silver embelishemtns on their coats glistened in the room's artificial light and he heard Prentiss gasp quietly. "The Black Order," she murmured, gazing at the ornate rose cross that lay over their hearts. "You're Exorcists."

The boy, Allen Walker, gave a little "Oh!" of surprise before a smile split across his features. "You've heard of us, ma'am?" he asked, delight in his voice. "Good things, I hope."

She nodded. "I met two of your Order in Rome, years ago," she said. "But Exorcists here can't be very good."

Walker's attitude shifted quickly to morose.

"Our Finders have located an Innocence fragment here," said the girl, Lee.

Prentiss flashed a look at JJ, not concerning herself with the astonishment on everyone else's faces, and then back at the children. "Reid's compatible, isn't he?"

Walker pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, "but yes."

* * *

Again, questions, comments, constructive criticism, ideas, and anything in between are welcome. I still have no idea what Reid's Innocence is going to be, so expect some dawdling before I get to that part. Anyone with any ideas on that is encouraged to submit! And anyone who wants to beta, send me a PM.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** So here it is. The long-awaited second installment of This is for Real. I was supposed to post this practically three weeks ago. But thing is, I wrote chapter three first, thinking it was going to be chapter two, then realized that it would work better as chapter three. After that, I had to write the real chapter two, which took awhile. And then we had a week of anatomy reporting and testing and I had absolutely no time to edit. But here it is, finally. And as I'm sure you're all fed up with my excuses, this note is done.

* * *

**This is for Real, a Criminal Minds and D. Gray-man Crossover fanfiction  
CHAPTER TWO**

Penelope Garcia was in her cave when JJ called her.

"Almighty Penelope Garcia here, speak and be heard."

She heard JJ laugh a little on the other end. "We need everything you can find on something called the Black Order. Go international."

Garcia swiveled back into place in front of her monitors and began the search. "How soon do you need this?" she asked.

"As soon as you can get it," replied the Communications Liaison. "Could you put a file together and bring it up when you're done?"

The technical analyst gave a "Mhm" in response. "Consider it on its way."

"Thanks, Garcia."

"Can I ask what this is for?" she asked, her brow furrowed a little at the lack of pinging going on.

"Some people are here for Reid," she said in a very hushed tone, "and they say that they're from the Black Order. Prentiss recognizes the name and their uniform, but no one else seems to have any idea about it."

"Then I will do my very berry best, scout's honor," Garcia replied, ending the connection. As she continued scouring, she wondered why the universe had it in for Reid.

JJ re-entered the room in time to catch Erin Strauss interrogating the children. None of the others in the room were speaking, either because they had no idea what to say or because Strauss' authority seemed to be seeping out from her pores.

"We're not lying, ma'am," said the boy, Walker. "And our sources are completely reliable." He and the girl, Lee, were sitting on the couch with Morgan on the very edge, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"How are you so sure that Agent Reid is the one?" she asked, voice hard.

"There have been quite an increase in Akuma sightings around two areas," said Walker, "And the only connection that these two areas have is that they are frequented by Agent Reid."

"And what are Akuma?" the chief asked, tripping over the unfamiliar syllables.

Walker's face fell, "They are machines created by the Millennium Earl to kill. Akuma are made from the souls of the dead, called back to this world by misled loved ones. They can make bullets out of their blood which are very poisonous, and as soon as you're hit by one, you'll die if you don't cut the part off." He sounded so sincerely sad.

"And what is Innocence?"

From her position by the door, JJ noticed everyone's attention perk up.

"God matter," said Walker. "It is a crystal that is the polar opposite of Dark Matter, which is what the Akuma are made of. It is only Innocence that can cleanse the souls chained within the Akuma and free them, and only certain people that are able to use the Innocence, and those people are recruited by the Order and become Exorcists. They are the actual soldiers in this war."

"And you expect the kid to fight this war?" Morgan asked, speaking for the first time since he entered the room. He was pissed, if the glare he was sending the Exorcists was anything to go by. And had they been anyone else (read: people who hadn't faced hordes of Akuma, the Noah, the Earl, and Kanda after being mistaken for a girl), they would have wilted.

"Reid isn't cut out for war. Hell, he can barely shoot!"

Just then, Garcia entered the room. She was aghast, and nearly dropped the file in her hands. "You're sending Reid to war?"

After the brief introduction, Garcia looked as though she would cry.

Lee sighed. "Besides, ordinary guns wouldn't work. Only Innocence can destroy Akuma. And we wouldn't just throw him to the wolves! He would be properly trained by very capable people who – "

Whatever else she was going to say was cut off by a pained gasp from Walker and a weird whirring sound. All eyes flew to the youngest in the room, who was covering his left eye with his hand and wasn't doing a very good job of it. They could see whirring golden gears around it.

The girl stood abruptly, "Where? How many?"

Walker too stood. "Three Level One fifty meters north, one Level Two in the alley behind the building." Then he turned to the adults in the room and said, "If you'll excuse us, we have something to take care of."

The two practically ran out of the room, everyone else following close behind. Walker disappeared out some obscure window, calling out, "I'll get the ones by the subway!" and leaving them with Lee at the back entrance.

Lee looked at them with pleading eyes and said, "Please stay here; I don't want any of you getting hurt," before she too flung herself out a window and into the alley with a yell of "Innocence activate!" and a flurry of light by her ankles.

-break!-

Now, after years of working in law enforcement, Derek Morgan thought that he'd seen it all. He learned how very wrong he was as he watched the scene unfold a single story from where they stood. He had never seen anything like it at all. And judging by the looks on everyone else's faces, none of them had either.

A single strange black-and-white humanoid stood in front of the girl, calling out, "Exorcist, Exorcist, din' 'spect to see one of you here! Gonna kill you, Exorcist!" in a very taunting voice, and the Lee girl running towards it at break-neck speed. The anklet he had noticed her wearing earlier were now some strange pair of boots that glowed green and were sort-of butterfly-like. The creature stuck its hand out in Lee's direction and fired bullet-like things from the palm. Morgan watched in awe as Lee leaped an inhuman distance into the air and did an array of acrobatic maneuvers to dodge the projectiles sent her way, and landed elegantly behind it with not a single hair out of place.

The thing giggled and turned to face her. "Flippy, aincha, Exorcist?" It raised its hand at her again and she tensed. "Fun's you've been, I gotta kill you now." And Lee jumped again, vacating the space just before the projectiles got there. She soared above the creature and practically bounced off of the wall by the fire escape. She landed right on top of the creature, right boot first, and split it in half. It disappeared in a flash of light and at the end of it, with Lee landing lightly where it once was.

Morgan took a step back from the window. "That's what they want him to do," he murmured under his breath, so quietly that he doubted anyone had heard him.

In a clearly seen effort to get some air of familiarity back, JJ turned to Penelope and asked, "So what did you find?"

The other blond handed her the file with a slightly offhand, "Not much."

-break!-

JJ was surprised that the file only contained a single sheet of paper with only one paragraph written on it, which she read out loud for the benefit of the others:

The Black Order, also known as the Dark Religious Organization, is an international, non-profit organization that is dedicated to the saving and protection of human lives. It has members from all around the globe, most of whom have joined after a personal tragedy. There is no known age-limit to the admissions. It has branches in all six inhabited continents and connections in nearly every organization. It reports directly to the Vatican, however the location of the Black Order headquarters is unknown.

"Is that it?" Morgan asked.

"I've searched every database and every webpage I could, and that's all any of them say," Garcia said, looking defeated.

-break!-

Lenalee walked lightly up the stairs to where she had abandoned the adults, pleased to have quickly finished the Level Two. She wasn't all that surprised when she saw that their faces had mixed expressions of shock, amazement, curiosity, and plain old oh my god, what the hell?

"What was that?" one of them asked.

"An Akuma," she said simply. "Level Two. It was probably just newly-evolved, nothing too big. It's the Level Threes and Fours that you really have to worry about."

"And you want Reid - klutzy, pacifistic _Reid _- to do kill them? Wouldn't someone like Morgan be a better choice?" asked the one she thought was Agent Rossi.

"We don't kill the Akuma," she said, wondering if they had already explained this. "We free their souls. And since Agent Morgan doesn't have any Innocence, there's nothing he could do against the Akuma. Finders have machines that can produce a barrier to contain an Akuma, but its radioactive and it won't hold a Level Three. Only Exorcists can help them."

And she wondered if it was only after that explanation that the people before her understood what was expected of their youngest teammate.

* * *

And here ends chapter two. I think it might be longer than the others, but that's only expected, seeing as it took forever to get out. I doubt chapter three will be as long. As always, this is unbeta'd and anyone who wants to fill the position is welcome to PM me. Reviews are great - I want to know what you thought of it and what you want to see in the coming chapters. Speaking of which, would you like to see Kanda here? (Alma would be included, because I can't bear to just bring one of them back. There will be a legit reason for Alma not being dead. . . at least, I think it's legit.) If there are any mistakes, please point them out so I can fix them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **The long-awaited next installment is here! This chapter is dedicated to _Lazy Historian _and _.2434 _(ff.n won't let it show properly, sorry) for giving me ideas for Reid's Innocence. Only Lazy Historian's is featured (sort of, I tweaked it), because Toshiro suggested elemental control, and I figured that was a little too powerful. Also, am I the only one who really hates my summary?

Some things I'd like to point out before we begin:  
-I totally BS-ed the distance between the building the BAU is based at and the subway station. As far as I know, it's inaccurate.  
-Someone mentioned in a review that Lenalee is more experienced than Allen. It's just that she has this purity around her that Allen lacks. Allen has light, she has purity.  
-I'm experimenting with breaks, so.  
-_This is for Real _is, as always, unbeta'd. Mistakes are mine. Please tell me if there's anything wrong and/or inconsistent. Seriously. Because it took me ages to figure out that the past tense of the verb "kneel" is "knelt," not "kneeled."

* * *

** This is for Real, a Criminal Minds and D. Gray-man crossover  
CHAPTER THREE**

Doctor Spencer Reid had received JJ's text just as he was boarding the subway. Understandably, it made him frown. 'Urgent' was _never _synonymous with 'good'. Ever. He texted a quick 'Be there in 5' before putting his phone back in his satchel.

He breathed in sharply when his eyes began to tingle, almost like he was was about to cry but not. It was as if his contact lenses were sprouting tentacles and covering his cornea like that weird black thing from SpiderMan. It had only happened thrice before – when he was found by Tobias Henkel in the cornfield, when he confronted Owen Savage, and just before he was shot in the knee – but already he was familiar with it.

What he saw next was halty, blurry, and covered in a green glaze.

_The train stopped. He walked out the doors. A hand on his shoulder. A man in a suit. 'Innocence' in a rasping breath. A monster in the man's place. Something exploding. Three big balls. Guns. Black stars covering people. People turning to ash._

Ping.

He lurched forward when the train stopped and shook himself. The doors opened with the standard announcement that the train had arrived at his stop. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped-prayed-pleaded that it didn't come true this time. He strode out the doors and practically ran up the stairs when a large, strong hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him backwards.

The smell nearly made him gag. He'd been around a lot of dead bodies before, but this was a new level of intense. Maybe it had to do with the fact that when he faced the hand's owner, it was not a corpse, but an actual living person. Still, he swallowed dryly and managed to choack out, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Innocence." The man's breath was even worse, a miasma in its own right. "Must." There was a breathy, dusty quality about it that reminded him of zombies. "Hah. Must." The tingling is back, more intense. "Destroy." The man's nails were digging into his shoulder.

He snapped himself back. Everything was green-tinted. The clear images of passing people mixed with the halting visions that always came with the green glaze. He stumbled up the last of the stairs, gasping. "I think you're mistaken, sir," he said, "you must be looking for someone else."

The man stumbled forward after him. "Innocence. Have – hah – Innocence."

Reid watched, frozen with a combination of curiosity and fear, as the man's skin began to split. His eyes rolled backward, his lips parted in a half-scream.

"Must destroy – hah – Innocence."

And the man's skin fell off of him. The thing in his place was black and white, shaped like a cannon ball implanted with guns. The man's face was still there, but drained of color and with a pentagram on the forehead. In the corners of his vision, he could see two others just like this.

"Hah. Hungry."

And people were running around, screaming. The gun-ball creatures were shooting at everyone. He caught the horrific image of black pentagrams spreading over the visage of a little girl just before she turned to ash. Cars screeched to a halt as hordes of humans rushed past them. But Reid did not move – which was pretty stupid, considering all the gun-things of the creature in front of him were pointed at him.

What happened next was broken, like a CD that played one part twice before moving to the next, then playing that part twice and so on and so forth.

_A boy in a white cloak jumped in front of him, _blown about by what seemed to be its own wind.

_The gun things went off _and the boy turned, shielding them both with that cloak.

_The boy drew out a large sword. _He ran it through the man-ball-monster in a diagonal slash before disposing of the other two.

_A blinding light _and he fell backward.

_The boy knelt in front of him, smiling softly, _"You should deactivate that."

_The white cloak thing shrank back and turned black. _"Just will it to stop."

The green hazed disappeared with another round of the tingly feeling, and Reid shook his head to clear it. "What _was _that?"

The boy in front of him stood up and pulled him to his feet, the black cloak swishing around him. What happened to that crazy white-and-silver thing? "Only some Level Ones, thank goodness."

Reid took inventory of himself: His hair was disheveled, his heart was racing, and his palms were sweaty. There was a scrape on his elbow, but otherwise he was unharmed. The he surveyed the boy who most probably just saved his life: Teen-aged, wide eyed, pale, white hair (what crazy fashion trend was he following when he dyed it?), wearing a dark uniform-like thing that looked really heavy.

"Come on," the boy said. "Your friends are waiting." And he took of at a brisk trot toward the government building with Reid following behind him, still completely bewildered. Who was this boy?

Once in the elevator, Reid blinked out his contact lenses. In his now hazy vision, he noticed that they were faintly green.

The boy glanced at them. "Oh. You're an equipment type. I guess it makes more sense for the Innocence to go over your eyes instead of be them."

Reid furrowed his brow and carefully replaced the aforementioned lenses. "I don't understand," he said, "what Innocence?"

The boy smiled, "It's all right, We're going to explain soon, when we're with your friends again. I don't want to have to do this more than once."

The elevator doors opened and Reid sincerely wished that he had never bought these contacts.

* * *

And yeah, I know it's short. I don't like it very much, but since I couldn't find a way to make it better, it's staying as it is. Now, an announcement:

I have changed the chapter numberings, Prologue is now One, One is now Two, and so on and so forth. I don't know when I'll get around to changing that in the actual chapter, but I will. Eventually. Maybe.

I don't expect the next update to take as long (I have the next one written, and the one after in the works), but who knows. As always, thanks for reading. Feedback is appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I know, I know, this is late. But it's here! And it's kind of filler. Ah well, it's necessary. Ish. Still experimenting with scene breaks, please tell me which ones you like, out of the ones I've used so far and the ones you've seen used before.

* * *

**This is for Real, a Criminal Minds and D. Gray-man Crossover fanfiction  
PROLOGUE**

The building was abuzz with gossip. They all knew that Something Was Up. They were the BAU, after all, and it was their job to know. They didn't know much about the situation, but a few things had been confirmed: One, a couple of very strange children came in with a polite request (read: demand) to speak with the Chief and Agent Hotchner; two, after a nearly-complete meeting of Hotchner's team, there were raised voices; three, it had something to do with Dr. Spencer Reid; and four, it was very serious indeed.

The last two of these were confirmed when said doctor came out of the elevator with the white-haired kid, looking particularly disshelved.

: : || : :_  
_

Morgan thought that Reid looked like he had just been shot – minus the blood and bullethole. And he could tell that the shite-haired teenager at the young doctor's side didn't even have a hair out of place.

"Hey kid. You look good," he greeted when the two approached the stairs. He couldn't help the solemn note that crept into his voice.

Reid brushed a lock of hair out of his face and scowled at the senior agent. "Your sarcasm kills," he muttered before turning to the Exorcist. "And you said that you'd explain."

Walker gave a soft smile. "Of course. But behind closed doors would be much better. May we return to your office, please, Agent Hotchner?"

Hotch gave one of his trademarrk stone-faced nods and led them back to the room they previously occupied.

"Did you have any trouble?" asked Lee, falling in step with Walker behind the agents.

"No; did you?"

"Not at all."

"It's weird," said Walker, a note of out-of-place contemplativeness coloring his words, "that there are so little, don't you think?"

Morgan caught Lee nodding as they filed into the office.

"Mm, it's like the calm before the storm."

"Yeah."

He did not want Spencer Reid, his surrogate baby brother, in that storm.

: : || : :

They were all in the office now, the blinds shut and the door locked. None of them were sitting; they were far too on edge for that. Silence enveloped them while everyone seemed to take stock of everyone else.

Finally, Hotch said: "Talk."

: : || : :_  
_

Allen sighed. This wasn't going well. They were blatanly told to inform as little people as possible and to _keep this under wraps._ And now there were six other people they were telling, excluding the compatible, about the Innocence and their war, and there was a whole streetful of people who had seen the Akuma. Not going well indeed. But it could have been worse.

He gave the adults a weary glance before sitting down on one of the chairs infront of the desk, turned to face the rest of the room for this occation. Lenalee followed suit.

"How much do you know of the Black Order? The Millennium Earl? The Innocence?" he asked quietly.

"Not much," answered Agent Jareu.

"No," he murmured, "not much."

He sighed again. He didn't remember sighing this much when he wasn't a Marshall. He cast a slightly helpless glance at Lenelee: "Where do we start?"

She shrugged. "The beginning, I guess."

And he groaned before sighing again. When he spoke next, he was adressing the entire room:

"Please don't interrupt, this is hard enough as it is. For those of you who do not know, my name is Allen Walker, and this is Lenalee Lee. We are Exorcists of the Black Order, otherwise known as the Dark Religious Organization. We don't go around with rosaries and holy water and crucifixes – we're not that kind of Exorcists."

"What you all saw earlier," continued Lenalee, picking up the narrative, "are what we call Akuma. They are living weapons made of Dark Matter, created by the Millenium Earl, our enemy. He approaches a grieving person and offers to bring their loved one back to life. If they say yes, he brings back their soul and ties it to an Akuma skeleton. The Akuma are driven by hatered and sorrow."

"They are killing machines," said Allen, his eyes sweeping those gathered around them. "The more they kill, the more evolved they become, and the more pain the souls are in. As far as we know, an Akuma can only reach Level Four. A Level One is easy enough to defeat, but taking on a Level Four with a couple other capable, fully-trained Exorcists is most likely to end in your death."

"There is only one thing that can purify the souls trapped in the Akuma. It's called Innocene, or 'god-matter.' The Innocence was broken into little parts thousands of years ago, and it's those little parts that make our weapons. Not everyone can use it – only certain people can synchronize with it." Maybe Allen was imagining it, but Lenalee seemed to choak a little bit on the word _syncronize._ "A person's Innocence can take many forms, like my Dark Boots," she let them activate for a moment before turning them back to the blood-colored anklets, "and Allen's Crown Clown. People compatible with the Innocence, those who can synchronize with it to a workable level, become Exorcists for the Black Order."

"You really should sit for this," Allen said, "it's going to be very long." He didn't say anything else until the adults had taken seats – or leaned agains objects with defiant glares. "The Black Order," he continued, "is international. We have branches on every continent. It was formed in the late eighteenth century by the Vatican. It's single objective is to destroy the Millenium Earl, the creator and controller of the Akuma. We're not all Exocists, most of those in the Order aren't. People who aren't compatible but want to join can find places as Finders, or in the Science or Logistics Departments.

"Exorcists mostly get sent on retireval missions to places where the presence of an Innocence fragment has been confirmed, or on an extermination mission to places where there are plenty of Akuma but no Innocence. It's rare that we have to go against the Noah – thirteen humans on the Earl's side who can shatter the Innocence – and even rarer we have to fight the Earl."

"On retrieval missions, we usually just find the Innocence fragment and its stored away until someone compatible can be found. Sometimes though," and as she said this both of the Exorcists let their eyes fall on Dr. Reid. "Sometimes when we find the Innocence, it is already with its compatible."

: : || : :

There is a pregnant pause in which the adults are left to process the information given to them. Finally, Reid spoke.

"You want me to fight a war?" he asked, a little breathless. This was way too much way too fast.

Walker gave him a small, sad smile – he seemed really good at those. "There isn't anything we can do about it. You're compatible. And after what happened in Edo and the European branch, we need all the Exorcists we can find."

"You can't _make _him fight a war!" protested Morgan, his temper flaring.

"The Earl is hurting people. People are hurting people. If you were given the chance to stop it, would you?" asked Lee, shooting him a look of understanding and sorrow that was dangerously close to pity.

Reid sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Why me?"

"Why any of us?" Walker asked back, showing maturity rarely seen in one his age.

"The Vatican says that it's the will of God," Lee said quietly.

"Which is a load of bull," Walker interjects. "I don't think any God would have chosen kids to fight a war for him. And even if they did, they would have given them a choice in the matter."

"So what happens now?" asked Hotch, always the forward thinker, choosing to ignore the traces of spite he heard from the white-haired teen.

"We'll bring Agent Reid back to headquarters and get him fully trained," said Walker, wincing a bit.

"In what?"

"Using his Innocence, martial arts, whatever else his mentor chooses to teach him. I really hope you don't get Marshall Sakano," said Lee, a little mirth trickling into her voice.

Reid cocked his head to the side in slight curiosity, "Marshall?"

"The criticals," said Walker, "those whose sync rate is at 100 percent or above. Because they have the best control, it's them who take apprentices. You can thell them apart from the other Exorcists because they have gold instead of red," he elaborated, fingering the trimmings of his uniform.

"There are four right now: Sakano, Nyne, Tiedoll, and Allen," said Lee.

"You?" asked Rossi, his brow furrowed, because this boy was, well, a boy. "But you're in red." And that, too.

"This one still fits, and it's not in pieces," said Walker, smiling brightly. "So Nyne and Tiedoll already have apprentices, but one of them might be able to take another. And noone higher than Komui – our Branch Supervisor – likes me very much."

And so they spent the next however long talking about this, Reid's new future. He hadn't envisioned anything for himself beyond the FBI; it was fulfilling and challenging and he liked putting bad people away. And in that field, he hadn't planned beyond _don't get shot. _Fighting wars definitely wasn't something he had ever considered as something that would happen in his future.

But there it was. And whether he wanted to or not, he was going to have to face it.

* * *

Yeah. I'm sure you knew all that, but it was kind of necessary to inform the rest of them. Next chapter, Reid says goodbye, and Kanda and Alma make an appearance for no deeper reason than that I adore them. (If the need to explain this arises, I'll think of something plausible.) Thanks for reading.

And now I have three requests to make:

-I'm going to be revamping the previous chapters, so pleasepleaseplease let me know which scene breaks you like, so that I can use those for the rest of the story.  
-I'd also like suggestions as to how the Team and the Black Order could meet again, aside from Akuma Attacks Being Mistaken For Serial Killing and One Of Them Joins Up.  
-I also really don't like the current summary. Is anyone willing to write a better one? The only length requirement is that the word ABANDONED must still be able to fit at the end, just in case.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Yeah, yeah, I'm late. But I'm also kinda proud of this chapter. It's sort of emotional and stuff. I couldn't remember the name of that other agent who's always featured (y'know, the one JJ yelled at about postmaster generals), so here his name is Riley. Also, this chapter has Alma and Kanda in it, so beware foul language. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but just in case: in this fic, what happened to the North American Branch happened to the European Branch. Originally this was because I wanted HQ in the continental US. Now it's because I think federal agencies would have known about gigantic building explosions and people battling each other with swords.

This chapter is for _Laurenreadsalot, _the first and only person to respond to my request in the previous chapter and provided me with an idea for the Exorcists and the BAU to meet agian.

I'm no longer doing that whole heading thing (sick and tired, sorry na).

* * *

When the door swung open to reveal a slightly frightened Agent Riley, the entire room turned their attention to him in shock, thinking something along the lines of _didn't anyone lock the door?_

"What is it, Agent?" asked the Chief.

"There – There's a guy here for them," he said, motioning to the Exorcists.

"Send them in, then," said Rossi.

Riley nodded with a quick "Yes, sir," before disappearing.

In his place were two young men entered the room, one carrying the other on his back.

The first thing the team noticed was the long hair, blue-black and tied in a hight ponytail with the end pushed over one shoulder, framing a scowling face. The next was a lean frame, well-built but not beefy, and the authentic-looking sword at his hip. Then it was the body on his back. Shorter, nut-brown hair done in an I'm-excused-from-following-the-rules-of-gravity style, and a definitely masculine face with a scar across the nose bridge, peacefully asleep, long limbs relaxed. And then the sword strapped to his back. They were both Asian and wore identical black, short-sleeved muscle-shirts, loose-looking pants, and boots. The one standing carried two suitcases and still somehow managed to look extremely intimidating with a person ob his back who was nuzzling his neck.

"Moyashi," said the long-haired one as Lee rushed forward with a concerned, "Do you need any help?"

He wordlessly handed her the suitcases, amusement flickering across his face when Walker hissed, "It's _Allen,_ BaKanda!" at which Prentiss gave a badly-concealed snicker.[1]

BaKanda (what kind of name was that?) shot the white-haired teen a dirty look when the one on his back shifted and groaned.

-::-

Kanda was grateful when the three women offered him the couch, but he declined. This was going to be quick. Well, supposed to be quick.

"A-ah," Lenalee began when the agents began to look at the two of them curiously. "These are Kanda Yuu – Yuu Kanda –"

"_Just _Kanda," he ground out.

"And Alma Karma. Two of the Black Order's Exorcists."

Kanda shot them a look that plainly said he did not want to shake hands.

"What happened to Alma? And your uniforms? And what are you guys doing here?" asked Lenalee.

Kanda scowled. "Over exerted himself, the idiot, and we're supposed to be inconspicuous." He looked at her sharply as the last question sunk in."That scatter-brained brother of yours didn't fucking _tell _you?"

"Didn't tell us what?" Lenalee inquired, accompanied by an intelligent "Huh?" from Allen.

"Just give me directions to where you're staying and I'll brief you later," he said.

"Can't you just find your own place?" Allen said sharply, earning him a what-happened-to-your-brain look from the eldest of them.

Speaking slowly, Kanda said, "Inconspicuous, Moyashi. _In-con-spic-u-ous."_

Sensing that a fight was going to break out if someone didn't intervene, Lenalee took Kanda's arm gently, "I'll take you," and began to lead him out, barely registering when he jerked his elbow away.

Then, regaining some of his previous professionalism, Allen turned to face the youngest-looking of the agents. "So, Dr. Reid, what do you say?"

Kanda tried not to laugh at the fact that Allen was presenting it like the new compatible (who, for the record, looked like a pipe-cleaner) had a choice in the matter. Needless to say, they heard him scoffing as the door closed. [2]

-::-

Reid swallowed hard. "All right. I'll do it."

Walker flashed him another smile. "Great!" He looked at the other agents and then at the floor, "I'll wait outside while you say your goodbyes," he murmured, turning away and exiting the room, toeing the door shut behind himself.

As soon as they were gone, Chief Strauss rose from her seat, clearing her throat. "Well, I'll – goodbye, Agent Reid," she said, "Your service has been invaluable." And walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

The click of the handle seemed to break the spell, and suddenly Morgan was in his face.

"Kid, you can't be serious!" he hissed, anger and frustration rolling off of him in waves.

Reid gave a half-hearted shrug, "I don't have much of a choice do I? You heard what Walker said, there's nothing to be done about it."

"They can't just take you away," Garcia murmured, looking like a kicked, heartbroken puppy bleeding out in the middle of a thunderstorm.[3]

Reid shot a pleading look at Hotch and Rossi, who were towards the back of the group and sharing a look of resignation.

Hotch stuck out his hand, and they shook. "It's been an honor working with you, Dr. Reid."

Morgan had the gall to look outraged. "No way, Hotch – you're not letting this happen, are you?"

Prentiss put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, saying, "Nothing to be done about it, Morgan," as Reid awkwardly accepted hugs from the other two girls on the team.

Morgan faced his surrogate little brother and sighed, "You're gonna need to pick up your stuff."

"Yeah, I guess."

He gave another sigh. "I'll drive you."

* * *

This was my attempt at drama. How badly did I fail?

[1] I think Japanese is included in Prentiss' repertoire of foreign languages.

[2] From the case in Montana, where Reid is said to look like a pipe-cleaner with eyes. For the simple reason that I needed something for Kanda to call him, and Morgan's choice of nicknames seemed inappropriate.

[3] This is what Reid looks like when he says the exact same line when JJ left the BAU. I figured that since it's Reid who's leaving, only Garcia could pull off the look.

Up next (probably), Morgan and Allen get to know each other. Or something. Ehem. Requests from last chapter still stand.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Look, it's _early! _Egad, man! The world is ending! That aside, please note that I'm not really pleased with how this chapter turned out. No reason in particular, I just don't really like it. You might not like it either. And it's rather short. Also, 2/3 of this chapter were written on my phone while I was at my sisters' swimming lessons. Yay for dexterousness!

* * *

Needless to say, the ride over to Reid's apartment was awkward. Morgan alternated looking at the road, looking at Reid, and looking at the boy in the backseat with the use of the rear-view mirror.

Walker ("Just Allen is fine, really") had insisted on coming along for safety reasons, because even though they had destroyed the Akuma earlier didn't mean that there wouldn't be any more ("We destroyed some earlier, before we met, but better safe than sorry").

Morgan was secretly grateful for this – those freaky things were dangerous. But he was also rather annoyed, because he had originally intended to use this drive over to talk Reid out of this stupid, stupid idea. Now, however, it was only a very awkward silence that filled his car. He was vaguely aware that his mind was supplying him with the words "gay baby" but felt it was better _not _to voice it.

He pulled up to Reid's apartment complex with another sigh. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

-o-o-o-o-o-

From his seat riding shotgun, Reid had a good view of everyone in the car. A subtle glance to his left revealed that Morgan was tense, his knuckles pale with the tightness of his grip on the wheel – precisely at ten and two – even as he parked. A flick of the eyes upward and he caught the image of Allen fidgeting nervously in the backseat.

"We're here," Morgan stated blandly, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

The younger two followed suit.

"No Akuma in the general vicinity," Allen announced, shutting his door with a satisfying snap.

As he led them to the stairs (he'd been avoiding elevators lately, and besides, his apartment wasn't that high up), Reid said, "Are you sure I can't just stay here until we have to leave?"

For a moment, Allen paused, his brow furrowing as they continued to troop up the stairs.

Reid unlocked the door, ushering them in.

"Well, usually we'd be leaving as soon as you were ready, but Kanda and Alma might have some news . . . hold on."

As Allen rummaged through his clothes for something (Reid though that maybe it was a cellphone), Reid studied the young man who would be his superior. He was so _young, _baby fat still clinging stubbornly to his cheeks. This war had children fighting it.

He shook himself.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Morgan watched with growing amusement as the white-haired teen stuck his hands in his cloak, muttering to himself and looking generally anxious. Then, with a somewhat exaggerated cry of triumph, he pulled out a golden globular thing that looked vaguely Snitch-like.

"There you are, Tim!" Walker gave a subdued chuckle. "I was beginning to think you got eaten again." The thing was now floating in front of Walker's face. Reid was staring at it intently. "Patch me through to Kanda."

There was a garble of static followed by a terse _"What, Moyashi?" _and what sounded like a pained hiss.

"How was Afghanistan, BaKanda?" Walker asked, his tone shifting from amiable to cool.

_"Small talk? Wrong golem."_

_ "Don't mind him," _cut in a new voice, _"Afghanistan sucked. I hate extermination assignments."_

"Where's Lenalee?" Walker asked, "Is she still with you?"

_"Reporting back. You found a compatible? Who came willingly?" _the new voice asked. Morgan deduced that he (it definitely sounded male) was probably the one on the other guy's back. What was his name? Something girl-sounding.

"Yeah," Walker said. "He's nice."

"This compatible can here you," Reid cut in scathingly, his eyes still on the . . . golem, was it? "And he would appreciate it if you didn't talk like he can't."

Walker gave him an apologetic smile, choosing to ignore the staticky snort and the staticky giggle from the other side of the connection. "What was so important that you had to come all the way here?"

_"Leverrire,"_ Kanda's deep voice answered sharply. _"We detoured to make sure we missed him."_

_ "That, and Komui asked us to check up on you," _Morgan could hear the smile in what's-his-name's voice.

Walker pondered that, a thoughtful look on his face. "Should we stay a while longer?"

Morgan could also hear the way Reid's gaze turned hopefully to his would-be superior, even though such things don't register on a sonic level.

_"I don't think so," _Lee's voice chimed in. _"Brother says it's just a routine inspection. If we take the long way, we'll probably miss him."_

Reid deflated.

"All right," Walker said, "Thanks. We'll see you in a bit," and terminated the connection.

He gave Reid another apologetic smile, "Sorry."

* * *

So, apparently, "staticky" isn't a word in the English language, and I don't know how to spell Leverrire. As usual, this is unbeta'd, so please inform me of any mistakes. This is also my first time writing Alma on a more . . . . I don't know, but the way I'm writing Alma here is very different from the way I had to write Alma in _Plight._ So, I would appreciate it if you pointed out any OOC-ness. Next time, Morgan and Allen talk one-to-one.


End file.
